British Man Faces Possible Death Penalty For Cannabis Extracts In Bali

A British tourist
faces up to 15 years in prison and possibly even the death penalty after being
arrested for possessing cannabis extracts in Bali.

Pip Holmes, a
45-year-old artist, surfer, and father of two, made international news after a
press conference last week in which Indonesian authorities paraded him in front
of cameras wearing a prisoner’s orange jumpsuit.

With very serious
sentences hanging over his head, Holmes and his family have started a crowdfunding
effort to raise $100,000 for legal representation.

“So I’m in rehab
center/prison in Bali…. I was arrested with a small amount of THC oil about
two weeks ago. Stupid of me, I thought I was past making dumb errors in
judgement, but it seems not. I use thc and cbd to treat my arthritis ..http://www.getpipbackhome.co.uk”

But that “small
amount of THC oil” doesn’t appear to be the whole story. Indonesian police say
Holmes received nearly 31 kg of cannabis extract in the mail.

If convicted,
such a charge could carry the death penalty, but it is more likely that Holmes
will receive a prison sentence between five and ten years.

With some luck
and good legal help, Holmes and his family are hoping he’ll receive rehab
treatment and deportation instead.

Indonesia is
notoriously harsh on drug crimes. In 2015 alone, 14 people were executed by
firing squad for drug crimes while another 54 waited on death row, according to
The Telegraph.

Holmes says if
given a prison sentence he would serve it in Kerobokan, “one of the toughest
prisons on earth.” That does not seem to be an exaggeration. Reports from Kerobokan describe it as squalid,
overcrowded, violent, and, ironically, chock full of drugs.

Recently another
foreigner who faced the death penalty for cannabis, American Matthew Fellows,
was released by Chinese authorities after they discovered he was actually framed for cannabis distribution.